UCF men’s basketball will play a pair of road exhibition games against LSU and Kentucky in October.

The Knights will travel to Baton Rouge, La., to face LSU at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Oct. 14. It’s the second consecutive season in which the two teams have played an exhibition contest, with the Tigers coming away with a 75-68 win at Addition Financial Arena on Oct. 26, 2025.

UCF then travels to Lexington to take on Kentucky on Oct. 28. It’s the second trip to iconic Rupp Arena for the Knights, who previously traveled to the Bluegrass State to take on the Wildcats on Jan. 3, 2006, before suffering a 59-57 loss.

Last season, UCF scheduled two exhibition games against then-No. 6 Duke and LSU as a precursor to their non-conference schedule.

The Knights open their regular season by hosting Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 2. It’s the start of a 14-game non-conference schedule.

UCF opened last season by sweeping its non-conference slate while winning its first 11 games. The Knights would finish with a 21-12 overall record, earning an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament before losing to UCLA in the first round.

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